Tokyo and a new guy?
by gaarasgirl389
Summary: Find out how Umi's  my OC   past is connected to Gaara's, Naruto's, Sasuke's and Kiyomi's  my friend's OC   past is connected. GaaraxOC. Modern world with the gang in highschool. My first story. DISCONTINUED! BEING REWRITTEN AS 'Konoha High: Trust me '.
1. Chapter 1

Tokyo and a new guy?

Chapter 1 – The new school

A girl of eighteen, who looked a little younger than she actually was, stepped of the bus. She had been to the shops to buy some groceries. Walking away from the bus stop, she approached a traditional Japanese house. Walking through the beautiful garden, she unlocked the door.

"I'm home!"

"Welcome back, Umi. Please take the groceries to the kitchen," came her mother's voice from the living room. Umi walked to the kitchen and set the groceries on the table. After she unpacked the bags, Umi went to her room. Her room was in a Japanese style, with a futon and tatami mats. Her bed covers were blue and green, with hiragana printed on it. On her desk, was a computer, some drawing pencils and paper. Umi had as well two cupboards that were full of manga. She had a built-in wardrobe that held all of her clothes. As Umi walk over to her desk, she felt her hair band loosen. Grabbing her pony tail, she heard something fall to the ground. Looking down, Umi saw that her hair band had snapped. Cursing softly, she headed to the bathroom next to her room for a new hair band. Umi grabbed a hair band and looked at the mirror. For a minute, she stared at her reflection, not recognising herself. Her blond hair, that had darkened so much as she had grown older, had been a dark brown. But just before she had moved to Japan, she had dyed it a blue colour. Not too light, not too dark, the colour was just right. Her hair, had been just a little above her butt, was now at her knees. Her eyes, when she had worn glasses had been greyish white, were now a beautiful Caribbean blue. Umi was glad that she didn't have to wear glasses anymore since she had laser surgery on her eyes. The black eye liner she wore made her eyes more noticeable. Umi also wore a bit of lip gloss. Her favourite earrings were in the shape in of a yin-yang sign. All this had to be done, otherwise _**HE**_ would find her. Suddenly remembering unpleasant things that she wanted to forget, Umi shook her head and tied up her hair.

Later that day, Umi and her family sat down to supper. Umi's father, Toshiro, worked at a police department. His wife, Yuri, stayed at home and taught flower arranging classes. Umi's brother, Natsu, was 27 years old and had gotten out of university recently. Natsu and Umi got on well together, considering the fact that Umi was actually adopted into the family. And he taught her martial arts.

"Umi?" Yuri called out.

"Yes, okaasan?" Umi said, snapping out of her day dreaming.

"We've found a school for you. It's the one Natsu went to before. It's close by and perfect for you," Yuri said. Natsu widened his eyes.

"Konoha?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, you suggested it yourself. Toshiro and I looked at others but they are not suitable. Konoha is the best. Umi, you will be starting next week. Make sure you have everything you need," Yuri explained.

"Yes, okaasan," Umi replied.

_The next week. . ._

Umi walked up to the front gates. Children ran all over the place. Umi walked forward, following the signs to reception. When she got there, she saw that the desk was empty. Looking around, she saw no one. Umi sat down on one of the chairs and waited. After ten minutes, she heard someone talking.

"You're supposed to be working and finishing these forms. You wouldn't have as much work if you had just finished these forms in the beginning," a soft voice spoke.

"Shizune, I did finish them. But then you brought more forms and more papers. HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO FINISH THEM WHEN YOU JUST KEEP BRINGING MORE IN?" an angry voice yelled. Umi looked nervously at the principal's door.

"Tsunade-sama, you leave your work piled up here and it's not good for visitors to see all the work. All I did was pack the forms and papers out of sight and then when you're working I bring them out for you to finish them," Shizune said. Angry mumbling could be heard. Then the principal's door opened and out came a dark haired young woman with a . . . pig? Umi stared at the pig and then the lady. What the heck was a pig doing inside a school? The young woman blinked in surprise.

"Hello. Can I help you?" she said.

"I'm the new student," Umi replied. The woman smacked her forehead.

"Oh no, I forgot! I'm sorry for not being here to greet you. I'm Shizune, the school's secretary. Hang on. Tsunade-sama!" Shizune called out.

"Now what?" came from the principal's door and the door opened. There, a youngish looking woman stood.

"Tsunade-sama, this is the new student, Umi Nekona," Shizune said.

"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm Tsunade, the principal. Shizune, please print out her schedule. She is in Kakashi's class. If you need anything, feel free to ask Shizune or me. Have a nice first day!" Tsunade said, turning back into her office. Shizune handed Umi her schedule and a map of the school.

"Walk to the front entrance of the school and turn right. The building next to the library is where your class is. Have a nice day," Shizune said, smiling.

"Thank you," Umi said, bowed and left. Following the instructions, she arrived in front of room 66. Hearing noise from within, she realised that class had already begun. Knocking on the door, she waited. A silver haired, young guy with a facemask covering the bottom half of his face opened the door.

"Um, I'm the new student Umi Nekona," Umi said, nervously.

"Oh, of course. I've been expecting you. Come in," he said. He walked to the board and wrote Umi's full name on the black board. The other students in the class ignored him and were chatting to one another. As soon as Umi walked in though, they went quiet and stared at her. Umi walked up to the teacher and stood next to him, facing the class. She was feeling more and more nervous as the class continued to stare at her.

"Class, this is Umi Nekona. She is a new student here and I would like you guys to take care of her. Umi, my name is Kakashi-sensei. Your class mates are Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Hinata, Kiba, Neji, Tenten and Lee. Sit down at the back seat behind Tenten please, Umi. And welcome to Konoha High school," Kakashi said before starting the lesson.

At break time, Umi went to the roof top to eat her lunch. There she found her whole class eating.

"Hey Umi! Come sit with us!" Naruto yelled, a cheerful smile on his face. Umi had already found out that he was the loudest in her class but also the most cheerful. She walked up to them and sat down. Umi had been nervous throughout the lessons and even now she was getting even more nervous, if that was possible.

Naruto pov:

"Hey hey, Umi. Where did you come from? You know, because you're obviously not Japanese," Naruto asked, curiously. He was surprised to see that she seemed to have freeze when he asked. The others in the group also noticed.

"Sorry, but I don't like talking about my past," Umi replied emotionlessly, looking at them. Naruto couldn't help but notice that when she said this, her eyes revealed an inner pain that she was trying to hide. It reminded him of a certain someone . . .

Umi pov:

After Naruto had asked that question, Umi had found it a little hard to speak but since he simply seemed to move to a different subject, she relaxed. Lunch-time went by fast and she found out that Naruto and his friends had known each other for most of their life. Another shot of pain went through her, but she quickly suppressed it. Umi didn't want to dwell on the past. Hearing the bell, she rushed to class with the others.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – The rice ball incident

"I'm home," Umi called out.

"Welcome back," Natsu yelled. Umi dropped her school bag in her room and entered the kitchen to find . . .

"_What the hell are you doing_?"

"I'm cooking. What else could I possibly be doing?" Natsu said, as Umi stare open mouthed at the sight of Natsu wearing a frilly, pink apron and making rice balls.

"Cooking is one thing but do you have to wear _that_?" Umi said, pointing at the apron.

"Oh, I thought it suited me. I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Natsu said quickly, as Umi stared at him in a freaked out way.

"Goddammit! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Umi yelled at him. Natsu grinned. Of course she got mad and punched him. _Hard_. Natsu swore softly.

"Geez, you've gotten better. But please don't punch me that hard. OWWW!" Natsu cried out, as she smacked him on the shoulder. Grinning at him, Umi opened the fridge. Natsu rubbed his shoulder. Despite the pain, he smiled proudly. She had changed a lot and grown stronger since she had first arrived here, he thought to himself. Thinking about it, he continued with making rice balls.

"So who's the girl?" Umi asked. Natsu froze.

"What girl?"

"Don't try to hide it. Why else are you cooking then?"

"O-Okaasan asked me to."

"Yeah right. She loves cooking. She wouldn't ask you. Besides, no way would you ever agree to wear that thing if Okaasan asked you to. So out with it."

Natsu sighed. There were times he really loved his sister, but this was one of the times he really hated her. Why couldn't I have finished this before she had come home from school, he thought. Then he remembered. Umi looked carefully at her brother as she waited for an answer when all of a sudden, he looked depressed.

"What? What's wrong?" she said, panicking a little.

"Rice balls are harder to make than I thought," Natsu replied.

". . ."

He looked at her, only to realise that she was laughing her head off and trying to not make noise.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING FOR? If it's so easy why don't you do it?" He yelled. That shut her right up.

"Um, Natsu?"

"What?"

"I've never made rice balls before either."

Natsu sweat dropped.

School went by fast and soon it was lunch-time. Umi went to the rooftop again to sit with the others. They stared at her.

"Um, Umi? Isn't that lunch box a little too _big_?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, yeah. I guess it is. My brother and I practised making rice balls yesterday and well, we made a little too much so please eat some," Umi said as she unpacked the ten bento boxes stuffed full of rice balls. Everyone sweat dropped. But they did eat some of it.

"How did it go?" Natsu asked when Umi arrived back from school.

"They ate some although Choji had most of it. I gave him the leftovers to take home. I think he probably ate them on the way home too. Oh, they really liked it too," Umi said, placing the empty bento boxes in the kitchen sink.

"That's good. Those were most of the good ones. But what do we do about the rest that aren't edible?" Natsu said as he looked at the kitchen that still had loads of rice balls. Umi sweat dropped.

"I thought Okaasan said to throw them away. Nobody can eat them anyway. Why haven't you thrown them away?" Umi asked.

"I did! But the bins outside are full and there's still more of them!" he cried. Umi sweat dropped again. Her face went pale.

"Uh, Natsu, you did remember what Okaasan said she'd do to us if the kitchen wasn't empty by the time she got back from class, right?" Umi asked nervously.

"Of cour-" Natsu froze and then he went white.

"Oh shit!"

"Umi! Natsu! Where are you?" Yuri's voice called out.

"We're here, Okaasan!" they yelled from the kitchen. Yuri walked into the kitchen. Natsu and Umi were busy drinking hot chocolate on the kitchen table.

"Oh, you cleaned up. Wonderful! Now, don't forget that the next time you feel like cooking, you ask Okaasan, right?" she said, making a scary face. Natsu and Umi drew back in fear.

"Yes, Okaasan," they said quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Umi's boyfriend_?_

Reaching school the next morning, Umi was surprised to see Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, Sakura and Sasuke waiting at the front entrance.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Some of our friends go to one of the other schools. They're sharing some of the school days with us here. So we're waiting for them," Naruto said, smiling.

"Oh, but where's Ino or Choji? You're never really without them, Shikamaru," Umi asked, as Shikamaru blushed a little. What the heck, she thought puzzled.

"Shikamaru is waiting for his girlfriend. We're waiting for her and her two brothers," Naruto answered teasingly. Shikamaru blushed even more.

"Shut up. Man, you and her are so troublesome," Shikamaru said. Umi smiled a little. Then Naruto yelled and started waving his arms up and down. Umi started.

"There they are! Hey, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro! Over here! Oww!" Naruto yelled, rubbing his head.

"Don't yell like that all of a sudden, baka! You gave us all a fright!" Sakura shouted at him. Umi laughed softly at the sight. Curious, she looked to where Naruto had pointed earlier. She saw a tall girl, her blond hair in four ponytails rushing towards Shikamaru. Behind her, was a brown haired guy and next to him, was a reddish-brown haired guy with dark rings around his eyes. Umi stared a little, wondering if he was into make-up or something.

"Shikamaru!" the girl yelled before catapulting into him. They fell to the ground.

"Get off me, you troublesome woman!" he said, red in the face. Naruto and the others laughed.

"Oh come on! I don't see you for the whole of the holidays and this is the first thing you say to me? Wait, you didn't find some other girl, did you?" she said, suddenly looking scary.

"No, no! I'd tell you that first! Man, why are girls so troublesome?" he said. The girl stopped and looked at him and then smiled cutely.

"Get a room, will you? Some of us are here for school, not seeing you go all lovey-dovey," went the brown haired guy.

"Shut up, Kankuro!" she yelled.

"Hey, Gaara! Did you have a good holiday?" Naruto asked the reddish-brown haired guy. The guy smiled a little.

"Yeah, it was alright," he said softly. Umi looked at him and noticed that he had the Japanese character for "love" written on the left of his forehead.

"Naruto, where are your manners? Guys, this is Umi. She's the new girl in our class. Umi, this is Gaara, Kankuro and the girl on Shikamaru is Temari," Sakura said.

"Nice meet you," Umi said, nervous. Temari waved, Kankuro and Gaara nodded. Then, the bell rang.

"Shoot, we're going to be late for class!" Naruto yelled, grabbing Hinata's hand and running for class. The others followed him.

Finally school is over, Umi thought. The wind blew softly through her hair.

"Hey, Umi!" Naruto yelled. She started.

"What?"

"Do you want to hang out with us? Temari, Shikamaru, Kankuro, Gaara, Hinata and I are going to the mall. The others are all busy doing their own thing so it's just you left. We could use some more girls," he said, grinning.

"Really? Is that ok? Then, sure," Umi replied, smiling a little. Then she heard a motorbike's roar. Turning around, they saw a motorbike stop in front of the school. The rider pulled his helmet off.

"UMI!"

"Wow! That's the school's best fighter, Natsu! He left last year because he had finished his university studies. Wait, why is he calling you, Umi?" Naruto said, puzzled.

"This school's best fighter? Seriously?" Umi asked.

"UMI!"

"Shut up! I'm coming!" Umi yelled back. The others looked at her in surprise. She walked over to Natsu. They followed.

"Look out, Umi!" Natsu yelled.

"Huh?" Suddenly Umi was tackled from behind.

"Hey, what the? Get off of me!" she shouted.

"Ah, don't be like that. I've missed you so much!" the person who tackled her said, while hugging her tightly. Naruto and the others looked on, confused. Umi sweat dropped.

"NATSU! GET HIM OFF! HURRY!" she screamed. Natsu quickly came over and pulled the guy off her.

"Ah, Natsu! Stop that! How are we supposed to be a couple when you keep tearing us apart?" the guy said. He was well-dressed, his hair in a low pony tail and quite handsome. He tried to touch Umi again, but she quickly went behind Natsu.

"Ah, don't be like that! We're a couple. Or are you going shy on me?" he said, smiling handsomely.

"Hey, you're supposed to give me a warning earlier, when he tries to get near me!" Umi said to Natsu. He grinned, sheepishly.

"Sorry, I only just got his message and was trying to call you but you weren't picking up," he said. Umi glared at him.

"Then you should have continued calling. I was in class, goddamit!"

Naruto and the others just stared. Natsu noticed.

"Um, Umi, your friends are staring," he said. Umi went red in the face with embarrassment. She groaned.

"Umi, who is Natsu to you?" Temari asked.

"Um, Natsu is . . . –" Umi started saying but the guy with the pony tail interrupted.

"Hey, quit ignoring me. Umi, want to go on a date?" he asked, smiling so that you could see flowers in the background. Umi sweat dropped. She then got a cross mark on her head.

"How many times do I have to say it? Why can't you-" Umi began but then Natsu spoke.

"Dude, you bug her non-stop, then leave her and then pick up where you left. Girls aren't like games. You have to be there the whole time for them, or else they lose interest," Natsu said.

"I see. So that's how it works," the guy said nodding, hand under his chin and a strange sparkle coming from his eyes. During this conversation, Umi kept getting cross marks on her head. Suddenly she punched them, making them fly ten meters away. Naruto and the group sweat dropped.

"Natsu! You're supposed to stop making him come after me, not encouraging him!" Umi yelled, while walking towards them.

"Ah, but it looks like so much fun making him go after you-" Natsu replied before being punched in the face by Umi - _ again_.

"And you," Umi said, pointing at the pony tail guy, "you can just get lost. I've told you many time before, I am NOT interested! So quit stalking me! And I mean it, Ryu!"

"I see. I understand," Ryu stood up, brushing dirt off his clothes. "My sincerest apologies, Umi. I never wanted to distress you. To show you I mean it, shall I take you out to dinner tonight?" Natsu and the others sweat dropped. Umi looked shocked and then started shaking.

"Oh, don't cry, Umi-" Ryu said, only to have Umi kick him in the groin.

"If that doesn't make my feelings clear, I'll report you to the police," Umi said with a scary face. Ryu just moaned in pain. The others looked on in fear. Remind me not to make her mad, they thought. Then Umi smiled nervously at Naruto and the gang.

"Um, can I still go with you guys?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah, it's ok. Don't worry about it," Naruto said. The others nodded. Natsu smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The fighting test?

Umi arrived the next day to find the whole school buzzing with excitement. Looking around, she spotted Naruto and the gang, including Gaara, Kankuro and Temari, near the front door to the library. Running as quickly as she could through the crowded playground, Umi stopped in front of them.

"Hey, what's going on with the school?" Umi asked.

"Oh, it's the end of the first week and the school has a special event – the fighting test," Naruto explained excitedly. Umi looked at him puzzled.

"What do you mean by a fighting test?" she asked, confused.

"Well, the school has a fighting test to see who will be able to represent Konoha in the fighting competition. Only those who are chosen by the principle can compete later on with the fighting competition between schools. Gaara, Kankuro and Temari are from Suna but because our school is in good terms with Suna, we're teaming up with each other," Sakura explained further. The bell rings.

"Gambatte, everyone! Let's do our best!" Naruto yells, punching his fist into the air. Umi follows the gang into a huge fighting arena.

"Umi, can you fight?" Temari asks.

"Oh, yes I can. I only just started learning though. I hope I'll do alright," she replied nervously.

"Well, here's how it works. Each class will be fighting against another class, but only one-on-one. That screen up there will go randomly through our names and choose randomly an opponent. Like for instance, we, Kakashi-sensei's class, are going to be fighting Wakaba-sensei's class. Naruto could be paired up with, say, Kenji from Wakaba-sensei's class, and then Naruto will fight Kenji. Whoever wins continues to the next class fight. You can only fight with that class once. And once you lose you're out of the test. So make sure you win. Unless of course, they're too strong or you don't want to compete," Temari explained. Umi nodded. Then, a whistle could be heard and the first few students got chosen to fight. After half an hour, in which Naruto and the gang all won their battles, Umi's turn came. When her name was called out, she quickly ran over to the fighting stage.

"Kurosaki Junji!" the referee called out over the microphone. This was Umi's opponent. The whole battle arena went quiet. Umi looked around nervously. What, what was wrong, she thought. In the battle arena spectators' bench, the gang looked shocked.

"That's totally unfair! This is her first fight and she has to go against him? No way! Gaara and I had trouble beating him up, but we had a lot of experience. There's no way she'll win. He'll kill her!" Naruto said distressed. The others nodded in agreement. They remembered when Naruto and then Gaara had fought the guy. Junji fought dirty and practically killed his opponents. The teachers always had to step in to stop him. Umi continued to look around nervously at the crowd when suddenly Junji appeared from the crowd and walked over to the battle stage. He was pretty muscular and tall. He looked like a gangster. He smiled evilly.

"I have to fight a girl? Heh, this could be interesting. Maybe I'll see some nice underwear, huh?" he leered at Umi. Umi felt a little scared.

"Fight nice and clean, Junji, or you'll face punishment," the ref said. And then blew the whistle to start the match. Junji rushed forward and then disappeared. Umi looked around quickly. Then she was punched in the back, sending her forward a meter or two.

"Ow!" she cried out in pain. Getting up, she was kicked in the stomach. Before she could do anything, she was grabbed by the foot and thrown. Landing and then sliding on the ground, Umi felt her body scream with pain. Junji smirked. He walked slowly towards Umi.

"Let's see how much pain you can take," he said softly, Umi being the only one able to hear it. Get up, she thought to herself. A murderous aura seemed to fill the air and Umi froze, remembering the past. Junji kicked her into the air and then taking a knife from a hidden area of his uniform, stabbed Umi in the stomach. Umi gasped. Blood started to pour from the wound. The ref started shouting at Junji for trying to kill her. But Umi didn't hear him. She suddenly experienced a flashback.

_There was blood all over the place. Bodies littered the area. Umi ran. Ran away from the blood, the bodies. She ran away from _Him_. Her family were dead, killed by _His_ hands, in front of her. Her friends, also dead by _Him_. She screamed as _He_ caught her and stabbed her a few times. Blood pour out from her wounds . . ._

Umi gasped, pushing the memory away. She could hear the ref calling to her from the sides of the arena, asking if she was ok. She looked up. Junji looked all proud and looking down right pleased with himself. It was ticking her off. Pushing the floor, she stood up.

"Umi, would you like to end the battle? Medics are on their way to help you," the ref asked. Shut up, she thought. I have to concentrate. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.

"What, you have to take a deep breath to tell the ref you're gonna quit? Man, talk about weak," Junji laughed. Umi's eyes snapped open and she glared at him.

"Asshole," she said, right before she beginned to attack. Punching him in the face, and then kicking him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. She then vanished. Appearing behind him, she made her elbow hit him in the back. Junji dropped to the ground, screaming. Umi paused and took another deep breath. Then she grabbed him and threw him high into the air. Jumping after him, she did a Lion combo move, causing him to fall unconscious. Landing on the ground, Umi steadied herself. Naruto and the gang were on their feet along with the rest of the crowd.

"Did she just beat Junji?" Naruto asked. The gang stayed quiet, too shocked to speak. The ref at the stage finally broke out of shock and run to check on Junji. Then he looked at Umi.

"Winner is Umi Nekona!"

The crowd went wild! The gang cheered along with them. Umi smile weakly. Then she collapsed, unconscious.

"Umi, Umi, UMI!" a voice yelled out.

"Naruto, quit trying to make her wake up!" Sakura shouted, hitting Naruto on the head. Umi opened her eyes a bit. She saw the gang all around her bed. She was in the nurse's office.

"Stop making so much noise. You'll wake her up," Temari said with a scary face.

"Too late," Umi said.

"Umi!" they yelled out. She smiled a little, opening her eyes. Everyone looked relieved.

"Why did you black out? You only had bruises and one knife wound. What happened? Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto asked seeing Umi freeze. She shaked her head.

"So you're ok?" an unexpected voice said. Startled, Umi looked in the direction of the voice. Natsu leaned against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Umi asked.

"The school contacted me because no one else was at home. Anyway, back to the question. Are. You. Ok?" Natsu asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Umi said, not meeting his eyes. Natsu sighed.

"Baka! How close were you to losing it?" he said, frustrated.

"I would have been just fine, if he hadn't knifed me in the first place," Umi muttered. Natsu looked surprised.

"The knife? But you didn't have a problem before with it," he said, puzzled. Umi frowned angrily.

"It was the blood, baka! I was able to block it out but . . . I did see it again for a minute or so," Umi confessed. The others looked confused.

"Did you mean that time he knifed you, you saw something? We thought you went into shock or something. The ref kept calling your name for like five minutes," Kiba said. Umi looked at him in surprise, while Natsu glared at Umi.

"So you lost it for five minutes? He could have killed you in that time," Natsu yelled. Umi covered her ears.

"Yeah, I know and I don't need you to tell me," she said. Crap, five minutes? I was out longer than I thought, she thought to herself.

"Hey, Umi?" Tenten asked. Umi looked at her. "What exactly is your connection to Natsu-sempai?"

"Um, well, he's . . . my brother," she said, scratching her head nervously. A silence followed her words. Natsu and Umi looked at the others. They stared back, surprise written all over their faces.

"Oh, I see what the problem is. Guys, I'm adopted, ok? Matsu and I are not related by blood, ok?" Umi said, realising what they were thinking.

"Oh. Sorry, it was just a bit of shock, considering the fact that everyone knows that Natsu is an only child. When were you adopted?" Sakura asked. Natsu and Umi froze.

"Why did you freeze?" Naruto asked. Natsu flinched and smiled.

"Sorry, reflex. Right, Umi?" he said, looking at Umi. Umi didn't respond. "Umi?" Umi started.

"What?"

"That's it. I'm taking you home. You need some rest," Natsu said, shaking his head. Umi's head drooped.

"Ok. Help me up, will you?" Umi asked. Natsu shook his head.

"Nope, I'm carrying you to the car," he said. Umi's mouth dropped.

"Absolutely not! That will be so embarrassing!" she exclaimed, trying to get up from the bed but flinching when her stomach caused her pain. Natsu shook his head and quickly picked her up.

"Whoa! Hey, I said not to do that! Put me down!" she said, angrily. Natsu shook his head and grinned. Furious, she punched his shoulder. Exclaiming in pain, Natsu dropped her. Quick as lightning, Umi flipped to land on the ground. Then she gasped in pain, clutching her stomach.

"See? Carrying you to the car is the best option to avoid pain," Natsu said and tried to pick her up, but stopped when she glared at him.

"I can manage walking to the car and then out of the car to my room. Just show me the way, Natsu and don't even _think_ of trying that again," she said through clenched teeth. Natsu stared at her as she continued to walk over to the door. The others stared in concern. Umi reached the door and Gaara, who was standing next to the door, looked at her. He could see the effort she was making not to moan out loud in pain. But what surprised him was the look of determination she had and the look of pain that was not related to her injuries. He could almost sense that she was battling something inside her. As she opened the door, Natsu appeared by her side.

"Quit acting so damn stubborn," he said. When Umi looked up in surprise, he hit her neck in a certain area to knock her out. Catching her as she fell, he picked her up gently. The others looked at him in shock.

"Was it really necessary to go to such an extreme as knocking out your own sister?" Gaara asked. Natsu smiled a little.

"I have to, or else who knows what she'll put her body through," he said. Then he quietly said so that no one could hear. "She's already gone through enough pain for one life time." But Gaara had been listening closely and had managed to hear the last comment. Natsu left through the open door and headed to his car.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:**** Hey! I can't believe I've already had 19 visitors! But um, people? You're not reviewing. Makes a scary and angry face I've had to beg a friend who's reading this and my sister to review. Although I think my sister may have gone a bit overboard with it. But hey, it's reviews so I don't really care. But you have to review ok? Or the new chapter will take longer to get updated.**

**Anyway, my OC is Umi Nekona. I have no idea if Nekona is a word that actually exists but I like the word neko(Japanese for cat) so I just added "na" at the end to make it look like a surname. My OC is based on my character. So what you're reading about her, is a lot of what I would probably do if I was in the same situation. (Although I don't know much about people being killed.) I'm trying to go for a action/humour fan fiction story. Tell me about how I'm doing on the humour part. I am not sure if I got it funny enough. I will tell you right now that I'm not very good at action scenes, so bear with me or review and post tips. Actually, go for the review part. I want REVIEWS! Also, I have changed my summary(it sucked). So hopefully that will bring more people to read my fanfic and MORE REVIEWS!**

Chapter 5 – Umi recovers and a friend appears

Umi woke up, screaming again. As she tried calming down, she wondered yet again if the nightmare would ever leave her alone as the psychiatrist said it would. This was the tenth night in a row that the nightmare came to haunt her. It started on the night after the fight with Junji. The same dream that haunted her for the past two years. The dream of _that night_. As she tried to shake it from her mind, a knock came on her door. Natsu walked in.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Stupid question. My wound still hurts and I wake up screaming from a dream. I feel like shit," she replied, but with no offense meant. Natsu nodded. He understood that the dream, for her, was still a painful subject. But he wished that she would talk more about it. He would have a better understanding then. His parents wouldn't tell him, saying that only when Umi trusted him enough to tell, he would understand the trauma behind her past. But it was taking so long and he was really starting to lose patience. Two years of therapy for her and two years of waking up to the sound of her screaming. Of course in the past year, the nightmare seemed to disappear until she would sleep for several days in a row without the nightmare.

"Umi?" Umi looked up at Natsu. "Could you tell me what the dream is about? It's been two years that I've known you and I think it would help if you talked about it."

Umi froze and then looked away. Natsu continued to wait until it seemed that she really wasn't going to talk. Sighing, he walked to the bedroom door and was about to open it when Umi began to speak.

"It's about _that night_. I keep seeing their faces over and over again. I watch as they were killed. The screams, the pain, the blood . . . I don't think I can take it anymore. Why couldn't I have died that night too? I had to go through so much therapy and tranquilisers that it makes me just sick thinking about it," Umi said, covering her face with her hands and started to cry softly. Natsu walked over, sat on the bed and pulled her into a hug. He felt as her body trembled from the fear and horror she had seen.

"It's ok. I'm here, okaasan and otousan are also here. You're not alone. We're here for you. And we'll protect you," he said, trying to comfort her. After ten minutes, she stopped. He handed her a tissue.

"I know that. But it's also because it's your job. After all, you're one of the governments' top ninjas."

A few days later, the doctor gave Umi permission to attend school again. Reaching the school gate, Umi saw the gang with Gaara, Temari and Kankuro standing under the school's big oak tree. She walked over to them.

"Hey Umi! You're back!" Naruto said with a big smile on his face.

"That's good. So your wound is healed, is it?" Sakura asked. Umi nodded.

"Then let's hurry to class. You are going to need notes of the lessons you missed and we have so much we want to know about," Naruto said walking in the direction of the class. Umi followed them and answered the questions they asked about her fighting technique. She also found out that out of all of them, Naruto and Gaara were the only ones who had fought Junji and were the only ones in the school who had defeated him.

_A few hours later . . ._

Umi was in her final class of the day with the gang. Asuma-sensei was supposed to teach them but he had been called to Tsunade-sama's office along with the other teachers. Naruto took this opportunity to continue asking Umi about her fighting style but as she had told him everything, Umi hoped he would stop asking. But unfortunately, Naruto remembered something to ask.

"Hey, Umi, do you remember your real family?" he asked. The others listened closely. Umi froze.

"What's with you freezing the whole time?" Naruto asked. Umi shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? It's not like they were killed!" he said, pissed off. Sakura and Ino rushed to silence him but Sasuke stopped them.

"Sorry, Umi. Naruto's just in a bit of a bad mood because it's the anniversary of his parents' death coming up," Sasuke said. Umi looked up.

"Naruto's an orphan?" she asked.

"Naruto's parents died in an earthquake. Now he lives with his godfather, Jiraiya-sensei. And Sasuke's an orphan too. Only his family was murdered," Kiba answered. Umi had looked at Naruto in sympathy until she heard the last comment that Kiba said. She went white in the face.

"What's wrong? Does your wound still hurt?" Sakura asked.

"Oi, Kiba, don't tell everyone my private details," Sasuke said, glaring at Kiba.

"No, it's just that . . ." Umi began and then stopped. The others looked at her. Naruto looked closely at her, still a bit mad.

"My . . . my f-family was murdered too. . ." Umi said softly. They looked at her in shock.

"Sorry. We didn't realise. We won't ask any more about them," Temari said, hurriedly. The others nodded as well except for Gaara and Naruto.

"How or why were they killed?" Naruto asked. The others looked at him in shock.

"Naruto! That's rude! Apologies and don't ask anymore," Sakura said, with the other girls backing her up. Gaara noticed, that at Naruto's words, Umi had flinched and made her hands into small fists.

"It just that, I wanna know. My parents were killed in an earthquake, Sasuke's brother murdered his family and left him alive, Neji's dad died protecting his family and Gaara's uncle died in a freak accident," Naruto protested, trying to protect himself from the girls. Hinata looked unsure what to do. Tenten, Sakura, Ino and Temari looked outraged and were ready to attack him. Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Neji, Kankuro and Shino were uncertain on what to do or say. Gaara looked at Naruto. Sasuke hit Naruto on the head.

"Hey, I just told Kiba to zip it about my life and now you bring it up again. I don't believe that shit story about my brother being responsible for the murder of my family," Sasuke said, ticked off.

"But you were the one who said that it was him. You said so to the police, remember?" Naruto reminded him.

"Even so, there must have been something wrong with him. He would have never done such a thing. He didn't act like himself. It was, like . . . he was being controlled," Sasuke said, struggling for the right word. Umi, who was busy packing her stuff in her bag, dropped her pencil case. It hit the floor with a crash. They others jumped.

"What?" Hinata asked, startled.

"Sorry, it slipped," Umi said smiling weakly. They nodded and then began to pack their stuff away too. Umi sighed softly. Sasuke had shocked her a little with his words. It reminded her of a certain person. . .

"Ok, kiddies. Sit still and nobody will get hurt," came a gruff voice. Looking up, they saw a muscular guy, dressed baggy clothes and with a cap facing backwards on his head. He looked Korean and he had a few piercings on his ears. He was carrying a big gun. That made them freeze.

"Now, sit down on your chairs. Move it!" he commanded. Umi quickly dropped her bag and sat down. The others were a second before her.

"What's going on? When Tsunade-obaachan the principal finds out you're here, she'll beat the hell out of you," Naruto said, glaring at the guy. The guy just smiled.

"You mean the big chest babe with twin loose ponytails? She and the other teachers are sleeping right. Courtesy of our sleeping gas. No one's going to come help you," the guy sneered.

Half an hour and no one had entered the classroom to come save them. Umi was getting more and more nervous while the others remained calm and a little uneasy. Why aren't the others at least putting up a fight? But then again the guy does have a gun, but Lee, with his speed, should be able to knock it out of his hands without anyone getting shoot at, Umi thought. Yet, why hasn't anything happened? She continued to think about this, while watching the others. Looking out of the class window, which was next to her desk, she could see the men outside keeping watch. She didn't know how many there were but it had to be a big gang. As she continued to watch, she suddenly felt a chill go down her spine and it felt like someone was watching her. Looking at the guy in the class, she saw he wasn't looking at her. Glancing outside, she could see none of the men staring at her. Looking at the upper floors at the classrooms situated there, she didn't see anyone. Wondering if she had imagined it, Umi was about to turn away when she saw Gai-sensei on the roof of the school looking at her. Startled, she quickly glanced at the others to see if they had seen him. They hadn't. Quickly looking back, Umi saw that Gai-sensei wasn't there. Rubbing her eyes, she cursed silently. A phone rang. Everyone jumped. The guy with the gun cursed and grabbed his phone from his pocket.

"What?" he said. After hearing what the other person on the phone said, he smiled a cruel smile.

"Yeah, there are some nice looking girls in this class. We could easily sell them," he replied. Umi froze. Not only was she surprised to hear him say that but it was the language that he had said it in that shocked her the most. It was English, her mother tongue. The others looked in confusion.

"I'll bring one to you in a little while. Hmm? You're coming to get one? Ok, I got it," he continued, ending the call. Putting down the phone, he looked at the gang. And he continued to smile. Five minutes later, someone knocked on the door. Then the door opened, to reveal a guy in casual clothes and carrying a gun. His hair was black and in a Mohawk style. The Korean guy smiled at him.

"That was quick. Take your pick," he spoke in English. The other guy looked at Umi and the girls.

"You weren't joking when you said you had some nice girls here. Some of them are miniature babes. I can't wait to see what they will look like in a few years time. They're going to make some guys really happy. He he!" the Mohawk guy laughed. The Korean guy nodded.

"I'll take the one with the blue hair. If I take the girl with white eyes or the girl with four ponytails, the boss might leave us with nothing but ugly girls, you know what I'm saying?" the Mohawk guy asked.

"You, blue hair! The boss wants to see you," the Korean guy said in Japanese. Umi got up and began walking towards the front of the class.

"Hey, where are you taking her?" Naruto called out. Quick as lightning, the Mohawk guy pulled out a knife and threw it at Naruto. It landed on his desk, just 3 cm away from his body.

"Kiddies that don't keep their mouths shut will get hurt. Hurry up, you!" he said to Naruto and then to Umi. As they left the room, Umi smiled a small, scared smile at the others. Umi walked in front of the guy. He was pointing his gun at her and warning her not to try anything funny. Walking in the direction of the principal's office, Umi looked around, trying to think of something. Glancing out of the corridor's window, she saw the men outside still watching. Then all of a sudden, Gai-sensei appeared and knocked two guys out. Vanishing and reappearing, he quickly disposed of the men outside, before they could yell and warn others. The Mohawk guy, seeing Umi stop and stare at the window, quickly looked and saw the men unconscious.

"What the-? Shit! I have to warn the others," he said but then Umi kicked him in between his legs. Groaning in pain and shock, he fell to the ground on his knees, cradling his balls with his hands. Grabbing the gun, Umi hit him hard on the head with it. He fell unconscious. Umi took a deep breath. Well now that he's knocked out, what the hell do I do now? she thought. Then she had an idea. Quickly, she walked back to the class. She knocked on the door.

"Hey, the boss wants you," she said in the Mohawk guy's voice and in English.

"Really? Ok," the Korean guy said, through the closed door. Umi could hear him get up and walk to the door. She moved the side of the door where the shadow from the afternoon sun made her a little hard to be seen. Lifting the gun above her head, she waited. The door opened and he walked out.

"Hey, where are yo-" he said before she hit him on the head, knocking him out. Stepping over the guy, Umi walked into the class. They looked startled to see her.

"Come on! Gai-sensei has already knocked out all of the men outside. That means the other teachers are awake and fighting," Umi said.

"Alright! Let's help!" Naruto said, smacking his fist into his palm. They ran outside and there were the teachers running around, fighting the intruders. Umi could see that Tsunade-sama was mad by the fact that she hit the intruders without restraint. Of course this meant that the ground was soon covered with cracks almost as if there had been an earthquake. Gai-sensei had a contest going with Kakashi-sensei about how many guys they were beating up. Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei were helping one another. Shizune was helping other students who had come to help. Naruto and the gang joined in. The intruders soon found themselves on the losing side. They started to run away, but Tsunade-sama quickly knocked them out.

"Well, where the hell is he?" she yelled. Everyone looked confused. Then a guy in a business suit stepped into view, holding one of the younger students and he had a gun pressed to the head of the student.

"Well, well. Who would have thought my plan would fail. Ok, Tsunade, if you want your student to live, you had better let me go," he said. Tsunade grinded her teeth in frustration but nodded. Two cars pulled up in front of the school.

"Looks like my ride is here. I must say that it was a pleasure meeting you, Tsunade. Maybe we shall meet again?" he said, backing away from her and walking backwards towards the car. Letting the student go, he quickly run to the car, still pointing at the student with the gun. The car's door opened. The guy looked at the door and was about to approach it when Natsu climbed out, with a gun pointed at the guy. Quickly the guy shot at the student he had kept as a hostage but because he was facing Natsu, he hadn't noticed that he was now pointing at a completely different student. Natsu's face went pale as he watched the bullet speed towards the student which happened to be Umi. At the same time, the second car's door opened and a person appeared and aimed a gun at the bullet and fired another bullet, hitting the bullet, that the guy had shoot, off course. While the guy was surprised once again, Natsu disarmed him and pinned him to the ground.

"Great timing, Kiyomi!" Natsu said, looking relieved. Kiyomi, the girl who had fired the bullet to hit the other off course, smiled and then turned to wave at Umi. Umi ran over and hugged her.

"Man, am I glad you're a brilliant shot or I would have been dead," Umi said, smiling at her childhood friend.

"Yip! I wouldn't want to have to attend a friend's funeral. I'm sad enough as it is," Kiyomi said smiling. Tsunade walked up to Natsu. She pulled up the guy that Natsu had pinned down and said, "Not so cocky now, eh?" before punching him in the face.

**Author's note: ****Well, what do you think? This chapter had four possible endings. Half way through, my friend called me on Skype and I had the brilliant idea of adding her to my story. Which meant that those four endings went down the drain. (Gee, thanks a lot, hey. Now I gotta think all over again.) But it worked out. Even though it took me four hours. (I really hate you for making me do it in one day, friend.) There will be pictures on my profile showing how my friend and I look in the fanfic. Please take a look as it helps me NOT having to think of ways to describe ourselves. (By the way, my friend is 10-timer. She's the one who gave me my first review! give a cookie to her Ah, that reminds me. Review, people, PLEASEEE!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's chat:**** Hey! My friend has been bugging me to write more and more. So here I am writing chapter 6. But you see there was a bit of a problem. **_**The chapter was 23 pages long!**_** So I thought hard and decided that I was going to divide it into 3 chapters. So chapter 6, 7 and 8 are connected. Hey, for everyone reading my story that makes it 3 chapters that you get to read, right?**

**I received a review about my first chapter saying that maybe it would be a good idea to change my first chapter as people reading it, didn't find much out and it was a little too drawn out. The review came yesterday so in chapter nine I will be trying my best to do better. **

**Oh and while we're on the subject, I've written 8 chapters and the only reviews I've gotten is from VampireOtaku-chan, 10-timer and Elemental darkness. I am very disappointed. Now, YOU THE READER! YEAH, YOU! IF YOU'RE READING THIS, THEN IT WOULDN'T TAKE YOU MUCH TIME TO WRITE SOMETHING BACK RIGHT? YOU GOT TIME TO READ, YOU GOT TIME TO REVIEW! **

**Oops. I didn't mean to offend anyone. Just that, if you were writing this story or any story, you would like to hear what other people have to say. Ok, on with the story!**

Chapter 6 – Boyfriend talk.

It was one month after the school incident. And it was still the top topic to talk about in school. Umi sighed, placing her head on her folded arms. Kakashi-sensei had given the class a free study period but the class had already finished their homework and he was clearly not in the mood to give them extra work, seeing as he had his head stuck in that book he was always carrying around. Men, Umi thought and sighed again. She could hear Naruto talking about the school incident. Who couldn't, Umi asked herself. Then suddenly she heard her phone playing the song 'Seizure of Power' by Marilyn Manson. Grabbing her bag and quickly looking for her phone, she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Umi! It's Kiyomi!"

"Kiyomi? What are you doing, calling me during school time?"

"Really? Darn! I wanted to have a nice chat with you. Oh and I also wanted to make plans to meet as I want to test you on how good you've gotten at fighting."

"Then sms me rather! Gee, you can cause me trouble."

"What? Cute, little me? Cause you trouble? Never!"

"Oh yeah? Then who was the one who had decided that it was a great idea to take me for a tour of Tokyo without phones? You. Who got me lost during the same tour and caused me with my bad Japanese to find directions home? You. Who wanted to go to teach me Japanese and caused me to accidently insult someone so badly they were ready to shoot me with a gun? You. Should I go on?"

"Ok, ok. So I made a few mistakes and ended up nearly killing us both. You're forgetting the times I help you out of those situations. Who was the one who decided to ask people to send a certain blue haired girl to the front desk, because I had lost sight of her and hadn't seen her for the past hour, over the loud speakers?"

"Ah! You had to remind me of that time! You embarrassed me big time that time!"

"Who was the one who had cleared up the misunderstanding between you and that guy you mentioned just now who was ready to shoot you?"

"You."

"Who was the one to save you from that bullet that other guy shot at you at your own school?"

"You . . . Okay! I got it, OK? Geez, so you do bad things but you fix them or you save my ass somehow. Let's drop the subject, please?"

"What? But I wanted to bring up those other things you did, like-"

"Don't even go there! Those fall under the 'extreme and don't bring it up EVER' category. Anyway, you said you wanted to meet up?"

"Spoilsport!"

"Did you say something?"

"No, no. I never said anything. Ok, how about after school at the dojo?"

"Great, since my class ends in ten minutes and this is my last lesson, so I can come. Wait, _straight_ after school?"

"That's right! Hehe! Best before you eat. See ya then!"

Kiyomi ended the call. Umi groaned as she realised what she got herself into. And I just had to forget to pack a lunch for school, Umi thought as her stomach grumbled.

"Hey, who was that?" Naruto asks.

"Huh? Oh, it was my friend, Kiyomi," Umi replied. Naruto's face brightened.

"That girl who shot that bullet away from you? Awesome! Can I come too?"

"What?" Umi said, surprised. Hinata and Sakura heard what he said.

"Hey, you can't, Naruto!"

"Yes, Naruto-kun, you can't. You're studying a test with Sakura-chan and me, remember?"

"Oh, sorry. I forgot. But Umi, you will invite her over to hang out with us sometime right? Oh and what school does she go to? Does she have a boyfriend?" Naruto asked.

"EHHH?" Umi, Sakura and Hinata exclaim.

"Hey, Naruto, you're dating Hinata! Don't be so rude!" Umi exclaimed.

"Ah, sorry, that came out the wrong way. I was just thinking maybe she might date Kiba since she's his type," Naruto explained quickly. Kiba looked up at hearing his name.

"Ah, sorry Kiba, but Kiyomi already has a boyfriend. And she doesn't go to school. She is in a . . . military training camp," Umi said hesitating a little. I can't tell them she's part of the government's secret military force, she thought.

"Are you kidding me? But she looked like she was 17, 18 years old," Kiba and Naruto exclaimed. The rest of the gang was listening.

"Kiyomi _is_ 18 years old. She just finished school earlier than most people and joined a military training camp," Umi said.

"EHH?"

"Yeah," Umi said, sweating a little. Damn you Kiyomi, for putting me in this situation, she cursed silently.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. Are you guys up for a weekend at the hot springs? My dad got these special group tickets and my dad and mom won't be able to go for it, so they gave me the ticket. So are you guys up for it?" Sakura asked.

"Sure, why not," Ino said. The other girls nodded.

"It could be fun," Kiba said. Naruto, Kankuro, Lee and Choji agreed. Umi, Gaara, Shino, Neji and Shikamaru looked a bit uncertain.

"Sounds a bit troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Oh you boys won't think that after you've seen your girlfriends in those hot spring yukatas," Ino winked playfully. The girls blushed.

"Hey, what are you putting in their heads, Ino?" Tenten asked.

"Aw, come on, it's like the only way they might come. Besides lazing around in the hot spring baths," Ino sighed in longing.

"Come on. We hardly ever get the chance to spend the weekend with everyone. What ya say?" Naruto said, trying to persuade the rest of the guys.

"I'm in. Ino persuaded me. But Naruto, it's you and the others that are dating that cause problems for us as you're always going on some date and then we all can't hang out together," Umi replied. Naruto scratched behind his head in embarrassment.

"Gomen," he said. Then the bell rang.

"Ah, I have to go! Hey, the rest of you guys should come. Who knows, it could be great fun," Umi said as she grabbed her bag and ran out of the class.

"Oh, and she's already gone. That's it for today, class. See you on Monday," Kakashi-sensei said.

"Eh? But today's Thursday, sensei. We still have school tomorrow," Sakura said.

"No tomorrow is a holiday. You won't be coming to school," Kakashi-sensei said smiling under his mask and walking out of the class.

Umi collapsed on the floor, panting hard.

"Hey, don't tell that's all you can do. We've only done this for six hours," Kiyomi said, looking down at Umi. Umi sighed.

"I've already managed to extend my work out by four and half hours since we first started training two years ago. I've improved, ok?" Umi said, still panting hard. Kiyomi continued to look at her and then smiled.

"Yeah, you're right. You haven't been doing this for years like me, so of course you can only manage a mere six hours," Kiyomi said smiling. Umi glared at her.

"Don't make me punch you," she growled. Kiyomi continued to look at her smugly in an attempt to get Umi to train more when . . .

"GRRRRRRRGgrrrrrrrGGGRRRRR . . ." Umi's and Kiyomi's faces went blank. When the noise repeated, Kiyomi looked at the direction of Umi's stomach and burst out laughing. Umi's face went red with embarrassment.

"It's all your fault! I only had breakfast and I forgot to make lunch for school and you made me come here for six hours without anything to eat!" Umi said, crossing her arms over her stomach in an attempt to muffle the noise. Kiyomi continued to laugh out loud and Umi gave up on trying to muffle the sound. Kiyomi grabbed her bag and pulled out two bento boxes. Still laughing, she handed one to Umi. Frowning at her, Umi opened the bento and began to eat. After fifteen minutes of silence from Umi, Kiyomi finally started to get a grip on her laughter. Taking a deep breath, she sighed softly. Umi looked up.

"What's with that sigh?"

"Oh, nothing. Well, it's just that every time I need some cheering up, you also are good for a laugh," Kiyomi said grinning.

"Your boyfriend again?"

"Damn. Yeah. I just wish that he would reply or give me some kind of sign that he still cares for me, you know," Kiyomi said, the laughter on her face replaced with sadness. Umi stared at her. Then putting the empty bento down, she moved into lotus sitting position.

"It's been roughly two years, right? Since he disappeared for no reason," Umi asked. Kiyomi nodded.

"You guys date for 9 months and then he disappears. No note saying why, no contact . . . ah man, I've already been through all that with you. You still love the guy, even though you haven't seen him since. He disappears just a week before . . . my family gets killed and . . ." Umi said, running out of words. What could she say? The past two years, where she had been having therapy after her family's death, had also been spent with Kiyomi trying to cheer her up and keeping her from going to the deep, dark side of life. Kiyomi hadn't seen her boyfriend at all and there was also no explanation for him disappearing without a word. Since Kiyomi's boyfriend worked in the same military force as Natsu and Kiyomi, this made his disappearance even harder to understand as the government had the latest technology to search for a missing person. If there had been even the slightest sighting of him, the government would know right away. Two years hidden from the government. How do you do that, Umi thought. Looking at Kiyomi, she knew that her friend was at her lowest spirits right now. Oh yeah, next week will be the anniversary of my . . . family's death, Umi reminded herself. Which means that this is the week that he disappeared? Sighing, Umi thought hard.

"Hey Kiyomi, why don't you go somewhere to take your mind of things? You know, take a few days off or something," Umi suggested. Kiyomi looked at her.

"Natsu said that he would spend the week training with me. It's always been a good thing to do. Besides I get fitter and stronger," Kiyomi said smiling. Umi winced. She hated it when Kiyomi was trying to put up a brave face in front of people. I have to give Natsu a serious talk about what to avoid talking about to her, she thought, placing a mental memo in her head.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" Kiyomi suddenly asked. Umi looked at her in surprise.

"Sure."

"Have you found a guy you like?" Kiyomi asked. Umi stared at Kiyomi in shock. What the heck had brought this change in the subject, Umi thought.

"Well? Maybe there's a guy in your class you like?" Kiyomi suggested. Unexpectedly, Umi thought of Gaara. Blushing, she pushed him quickly out of her head. Why did she suddenly think of him?

"Oh my god! You blushed! Who is it? Who is it?" Kiyomi asked excitedly.

"It's not what you think! I don't think of him that way at all!" Umi said protesting. Kiyomi looked at her, shell shock.

"What?"

"I was expecting you to say that there wasn't any guy. That you were blushing because you got embarrassed. OH MY GOD! Who is he? Tell me!" Kiyomi asked smiling broadly. Umi wondered what to say.

"He's a guy in my class, but it's not what you think. I don't like him that way. He just popped into my head when you asked!" Umi said, desperately trying to explain it to her and at the same time trying to understand it herself.

"Oh, really? OMG! I can't believe you actually like someone! Tell me more! Is he good looking? What's he like? Come on, spilt it out all ready!" Kiyomi said, leaning forward a bit threateningly.

"Um, I, uh," Umi stuttered, wondering what to say.

Then she heard her phone ringing. Picking it up quickly, she saw that it was Natsu calling her.

"Natsunii-chan, great timing," Umi said, answering it.

"What you mean great timing? Where the hell are you? You're supposed to be here by 8 o'clock. That's your curfew, remember?" Natsu spoke angrily over the phone.

"Sorry, Nii-chan. Kiyomi made me do six hours of training. I'll leave right now. Bye," Umi said quickly, before Natsu could say anything more. Putting the phone back into her bag, she turned towards Kiyomi.

"Sorry. I'll take full responsibility, ok?" Kiyomi said, smiling a little but this time serious. Umi nodded and waved good bye. Leaving the dojo, Umi felt a stab of pain in her chest. The curfew. No normal 18 year old would have a curfew. The curfew was there to protect her, she knew that. But it was yet another reminder that she was not, and probably will never be unless _He_ was caught, a normal 18 year old girl. Shaking her head to chase away the negative thoughts, she ran home.

"So Umi," Natsu said, after the big scolding she got from their parents, "What's this Kiyomi was talking about a boyfriend?"

"WHAT? When did she say anything like that?" Umi said, once again shocked.

"She said that the reason you were late was because you were talking about your boyfriend," Natsu said, enjoying the opportunity to tease her. Umi's face turned red with embarrassment.

"That bakayaro! I don't have a boyfriend. She just brought up the subject and distracted me," she said defensively. Toshiro looked up at the word 'boyfriend'.

"What's this?" he said. Umi flinched, looking at him nervously.

"What's what, otousan?" she asked, acting innocent. Toshiro frowned.

"What's all this talk about a boyfriend, hmm? What are you up to?" Toshiro asked suspious, as Umi began to very slowly edge away from him.

"Ah, that. There's nothing! Really! No boyfriends or anything," Umi said, waving her hands in a gesture that the Japanese often did to indicate that there was nothing. Toshiro and Natsu looked at each other and then looked scarily at her. Oh crap, Umi thought.

"Really?" Toshiro and Natsu chorused together.

"Yes," Umi said sweating a little.

"So who is he?" Natsu asked.

"There isn't a boyfriend! Quit asking! And even if there was, I wouldn't talk to you about it!" Umi yelled.

"But-!" Toshiro and Natsu began saying when,

SMACK!

"How many times do I have to say? NO shouting at the table!" Yuri said, towering over the table with one hand in the form of a fist. Umi, Natsu and Toshiro had their head on the table, with a big bump on their heads where Yuri had hit them.

"Hai, okaasan," they said together. Thank you, okaasan for rescuing me, Umi thought, relieved. Then Yuri put her arm around Umi's shoulders.

"Besides, that topic is only for Umi and me to talk about. Now if you'll excuse me, we are going to have a talk together about that," Yuri said, glaring at the guys. Umi anime cried. Dammit!

**Author's chat:**** Well, what you think? . . . Maybe I should have added more humour. But I can't think of anything more funny. sighs and give everyone chocolate chip cookies Review please . . .**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's chat:**** So now we can finally go on the trip. Please note, I've never gone a trip to the hot springs ( I'm not in Japan) but my experience is drawn from mangas. So if things seem weird, hit me on the head. No, I'm not serious! God, think of all the brain cells I'd lose!**

Chapter 7 – The trip to the hot springs Part 1

"Hey, Umi! Over here!" Sakura yelled waving at Umi who was walking up the street to Sakura's home. Umi looked to see Sakura standing next to a big black van. She could see the others sitting and chatting inside. Quickly she run the last two hundred meters left.

"Am I the last one?" Umi asked as she packed her bag into the back of the van.

"No, we're just waiting for Hinata and Neji. Their family had some kind of meeting or something," Sakura said vaguely, indicating that it wasn't anything important. Umi nodded before climbing into the van. She spotted a free seat behind Lee and Tenten. She quickly made her way towards it.

"Hey, you made it!" Temari said, smiling. She was sitting next to Shikamaru who was sitting next to Gaara. Umi smiled at Temari as she sat down next to her. Hearing a car pull stopping nearby, Umi saw Hinata and Neji climb out of a black limo.

"Wow, I didn't realise that Hinata's and Neji's were rich," Umi said surprised. Tenten looked out of her window and waved at Neji.

"Their family has been very successful in the business world for years. They own one the oldest dojo schools in Tokyo," Tenten replied. Then Neji climbed in and sat next to Tenten. Hinata climbed in and Naruto moved a little to make more space for her on the seat. Then Sakura closed the van's door and sat in the passenger's seat next to Sasuke who was driving. He started the van and off they went!

"Wow!" Umi said after climbing out of the car. The hot springs Sakura had brought them to, was beautiful. Traditional Japanese hot spring building with the usual scenery, but there were a few signs of modern technology. But to Umi, it was stunning, making her feel as if they had stepped back in time to whatever era the hot springs had been built in.

"Come on! I want to go in already!" Sakura said, grabbing her bag and walking towards the building. The others did the same. Ten minutes later, they found the rooms they were going to stay in. Except there was one problem.

"Sakura, there's only seven bed here. Where are the rest of the beds?" Ino asked. Sakura smiled a mysterious smile.

"This room is where Umi, Gaara, Shino, Lee, Choji, Kankuro and Kiba will be sleeping. The rest of us are going to be sleeping in the other rooms," Sakura explained. Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, Temari, Sasuke, Ino and Sai, a guy that Umi had met only a few times due to the fact that he was a year higher than them and also Ino's boyfriend, followed Sakura. The rest started to pick where they wanted to sleep when they heard raised voices. Rushing over, they found the others in front of some rooms, with most of them blushing.

"Oi, Sakura! What you mean couples have to share the same room?" Shikamaru asked.

"Exactly what I said. Couples like you and Temari will be sharing the same room. Don't worry, I don't mean the same bed. Unless you guys want to," Sakura said mischievously winking at them. Sasuke had his hand in front of his face to hide his emotions. Naruto and Hinata were really red in the face. Neji and Tenten looked shocked and were blushing. Ino was also blushing but Sai put his arm around her.

"Fine with me," he said, pulling Ino into one of the rooms.

"Sai!" Ino said, before the door closed. The others looked shocked after seeing this.

"Um, you guys had better hurry up and change so that we can go into the hot spring. I'll meet you there," Umi said as her face began to turn red. She quickly turned around and walked down the corridor towards the women's changing rooms. There, she undressed and grabbed a towel. Covering her body with it, she stepped into the hot spring baths where a few other females were. Umi headed towards a corner furthest from them. Then she relaxed into the water. What the heck's wrong with me? She thought. It's normal for couples to want to spend time together. It's nothing strange. But they are my friends and plus they're in school, yeah that must be why I was so embarrassed, she realized. She sighed deeply. Get a grip! If you act that way in front of them the whole time, it's going to feel very awkward being with them, she scolded herself. Ten minutes later, the girls appeared in the water, looking for Umi. She quickly waved them over.

"Hey. Sorry if I freaked you out a little. I didn't think everyone would react that way," Sakura said, scratching her head embarrassed.

"Ah, no. I just wasn't expecting it," Umi said, blushing a little.

"Yeah, but Umi wasn't the only one surprised, Sakura. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? We all love our boyfriends but some of us aren't ready for sharing the same room, you know. I thought Hinata would faint," Ino said, looking at Hinata. Hinata blushed a deep red.

"Ah, gomen, gomen! I guess I didn't think this one through very well," Sakura apologised, bowing her head.

"No, it's ok, Sakura-chan," Hinata said quickly. Tenten shook her head.

"No, it's not ok, Hinata. What if the guys took this as an invitation to do something? You know, like . . . deciding to take the next step into the relationship? What if Naruto decides to do that to you and you're not ready?" Tenten said to Hinata. Hinata took a moment to visualise that happening before she fainted and sunk into the water.

"Whoa!" Umi said, quickly grabbing Hinata and pulled her up. Hinata coughed out water.

"Arigato, Umi-chan," Hinata said after she managed to catch her breath.

"Oi, Tenten! Don't make Hinata think about things like that! You'll drown her otherwise," Umi said angrily at Tenten. Temari had been staring at Umi ever since she got into the water.

"Apparently, she'd not the only one. I didn't realise that you'd never had a boyfriend before," Temari said. Umi blushed. The others looked at her in surprise.

"Seriously? I thought you had," Sakura said, shocked.

"What, not every girl is interested in boys you know," Umi said defensively.

"Wait, then that means you're interested in girls?" Ino asked.

"Hell no!" Umi said shocked.

"But you're 18 and you haven't had a boyfriend before. That's really rare," Temari stated. Umi groaned out loud.

"Man, that surprised me. I hadn't thought that Sakura was capable of thinking in that direction," Naruto said, as he sat down in the hot spring water. The other boys sat down too.

"Hey, Sasuke! Maybe you're going to slow in the relationship for her and this is her way of showing that she wants more," Kiba said. Sasuke glared at him.

"No I don't think that's it," Sai said. The others looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Kankuro asked.

"Did you notice Umi's reaction? My guess is she probably doesn't have a boyfriend and Sakura, knowing this, has set it up that Kiba, Lee, Shino, Choji, Kankuro and Gaara are in the same room as Umi and Sakura is trying to get one of you to go out with Umi," Sai explained.

"Umi's reaction was a little strange but I don't see how that means that she has no boyfriend. But Sakura could have a plan like that," Shino said. The others nodded, except for Gaara.

"So which of you are interested in Umi, more than friends?" Sai asked, looking at Shino first.

"I don't think pairing her up with me would be a good idea. I saw her getting scared by a spider. A bug-lover like me would be a bad choice," Shino stated quietly. Sai looked at Choji.

"Hmm, she's nice but I don't think we can be more than friends," Choji said, shaking his head. Sai looked at Lee.

"Sorry but I already have someone I like," Lee said. Sai looked at Kankuro.

"Not interested," Kankuro said matter of factly. Sai looked at Kiba.

"Maybe, who knows," Kiba said vaguely. Sai looked at Gaara. Gaara looked away.

"I'm not taking part in this conversation," he said.

"So out of you six, only Kiba seems to like her. Maybe Sasuke should tell Sakura to get Umi to go out with Kiba," Sai said seriously.

"Hey, quit joking around, Sai! We don't even know if that's really Sakura's plan," Naruto said. Sai shrugged.

"What about that other guy?" Kankuro asked.

"What other guy?" Sai asked.

"Ryu. Shikamaru, Temari, Naruto, Hinata, Gaara and I were going to the mall that day and we invited Umi along. We met this guy Ryu and he was seriously trying to get her to go out with him. Although I wonder if he's going to go after her again, since she kicked her in the balls . . ." Kankuro wondered. The guys, who hadn't been there that day, all sweat dropped.

"Wait a minute, Temari-san! Don't you remember Ryu?" Hinata asked.

"Who?" Tenten, Sakura and Ino asked.

"A friend of my brother's. And please forget about him. I don't want to have anything to do with that guy," Umi said.

"But why? He was trying so hard to get you to go out with him," Temari said.

"Although she did kick him in the balls," Hinata said. Ino, Sakura and Tenten sweat dropped.

"You kicked a guy in his balls because he was trying to ask you out?" Ino asked, incredulously. Umi shook her head.

"No, it's because I know some things about him. He's a playboy and he's already going out with three girls. I thought that if I reject him a few times, he'd give up. But . . ." Umi explained.

"But?" Temari asked. Umi sighed.

"He's been trying for six months now and he hasn't given up even though I kicked him in the balls," Umi said. They stared at her in shock.

"Wait, you're saying he dates three girls, has been trying to go out with you for six months, got kicked in the balls and _still_ hasn't given up?" Ino asked confused. Umi nodded. The girls sweat dropped.

"Hey, Mister could you do us a favour?" Sakura asked the guy who was about to go into the men's changing room. She and the others girls had gotten out of the hot spring, changed into bath yukatas and then went to see if the boys were in their rooms. Seeing that they weren't, the girls headed towards the men's changing room. They had seen a guy about to walk into the changing room and had stopped him.

"What kind of favour?" the guy asked.

"Our boyfriends are in there and we want them to come out as we'd like to go somewhere. Do you think you could call them for us?" Ino replied. The guy looked at her.

"What do they look like?" he asked.

"Just look for a guy with red fang-like tattoos on his cheeks and a guy with reddish-brown hair and the character for love on his forehead," Umi said quickly. The guy nodded and went in. Sakura looked at Umi.

"What?" Umi asked.

"Oh nothing. It's just I had an idea. What if you tried dating one of the guys? You could choose between Kiba, Choji, Shino, Kankuro, Lee and Gaara," Sakura said, thinking. Umi blushed.

"No way! I'm not interested," Umi said looking away. Temari looked at her. Umi began to fidget a bit nervously.

"Say, are you sure you're not interested? Cause I have this weird feeling that you have some feelings for one of them," Temari said. Umi blushed a bit more intensely.

"Can we please drop the boyfriend talk?" Umi said as the door to the men's changing room opened.

"Hey, you there. Guy with red fang tattoos on his cheek and his friends," a voice called out at the guys. Looking up, the guys saw a man walking towards them through the water.

"Sorry, but your girlfriends are asking for you guys. They're waiting in front of the changing room's door. They say that they want to go somewhere," the guy said before walking away.

"Thanks!" Naruto yelled at him. Then he and the others got out and quickly changed. As they opened the door, they heard Umi say, "Can we please drop the boyfriend talk?" They walked out to find the girls in their bath yukatas. It was worth coming here, some of them thought. The girls had slightly flushed skin as they had just come out of hot water and they were looking quite cute. The yukatas were without out pants so the guy got to see the girls' legs. Nice, Shikamaru thought. Wow, Hinata looks cute, Naruto thought. Sai walked over to Ino and draped an arm around her, before asking, "Did you girls choose yukatas that were a little on the short side just for us?" Ino looked slightly embarrassed at Sai while the others girl blushed.

"Shut up, Sai," Ino mumbled, looking away. Umi remembered Ino telling her that Sai had lived an unusual childhood and had trouble expressing himself and was sometimes bad at reading the atmosphere. This was one of those times.

"We were thinking of exploring the place. What you think?" Sakura said quickly to change the subject.

"Sounds like a good idea," Kiba said. For the rest of that afternoon, they explored the hot spring area, finding three shrines nearby and even quite a few inns. There were some souvenir shops but they decided to go there later. Finally, as it got too dark to see things clearly outside, they went inside the inn they were staying at and had supper. As everyone was exhausted from walking all around the place, they decided to go to sleep early.

To be continued . . .

**Author's chat:**** Well, what you think? Good enough for you to review yet? Oh dammit! T^T Am I really that bad? gives everyone a warehouse This ware house is full of cookies. Take what you want but please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's chat:**** Ok, now things are beginning to fall in place. Huh? What do I mean by that? Read and find out . . .**

Chapter 8 – The trip to the hot springs Part 2

Gaara's pov:

Gaara woke a few hours after they had all gone to sleep. He could only manage to sleep for 4-5 hours due to his insomnia. Great, now what should I do? He thought. Suddenly he heard someone moving around on their bed. Looking at the others, he saw that it was Umi who was moving and she seemed to be having a bad dream. Gaara wondered if he should wake her up as she began to mumble softly in her sleep and tossed and turned a lot. Before he could even decide on what to do, Umi woke up. As he watched her, he saw that she quickly placed her pillow over her head and one of her hands got covered too. Puzzled, he then heard a quiet and muffled sound. It was coming from Umi's pillow. Watching, he heard the sound stop before she took the pillow off her head. He heard her take a deep breath before she stood and walked towards the direction of the corridor that leads towards the garden made for the guests. Getting up, he followed her. Walking quietly, he opened the door. Umi sat on the edge of the raised platform, looking out towards the garden. The moonlight from the full moon, made her look as if she was some kind of nymph. Her blue hair seemed to glow faintly. Staring at her slightly fascinated, he remained standing. Then, as if waking from a dream, he shook his head and closed the door.

Normal pov:

"Are you ok?"

Startled, Umi looked behind her to find Gaara standing with his back against the door.

"When did you get there?" she asked.

"Just now," Gaara lied. He was too embarrassed to say that he had been staring at her for the past five minutes.

"I'm perfectly fine. I just had a bad dream, that's all. I'm sorry if I woke you. You can go and sleep still," Umi said.

"It's ok. I wouldn't be able to fall asleep even if I wanted to. I have insomnia so I don't sleep a lot," Gaara said.

"Oh," Umi said, surprised. She looked back at the garden. Gaara walked forward. Sitting down, he noticed that Umi's left hand had bite marks.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked.

"Huh, what?" Umi said before looking at the hand he was staring at. She quickly put her hand on her lap and covered it with her other hand. "It's nothing, I just bite on it earlier on," she said. Gaara looked at her, confused. Then he realised that when she had covered her head with the pillow earlier before, she had put her hand in the shape of a fist into her mouth to muffle the sound of her screaming. He sat quietly for a moment.

"Would you like to talk about it? They say it helps keep the nightmares away," Gaara said, saying the only thing he thought was right. Umi froze. He looked at her and then looked away.

"Sorry, I won't ask again," he said. An uneasy silence fell upon them.

"If you don't mind listening, t-then I'll talk," Umi said stuttering a little. Gaara nodded.

"I haven't really told anyone and my family only knows a few details but I . . ." _Don't trust them somehow_, Umi was about to say but stopped. She had known her new family for two years and she had only hanged out with Gaara a few times so why was she about to tell him what she hadn't told the Nekona family? Gaara wait for her to continue. She took a deep breath.

"For you to understand what I'm talking about, I'll tell you . . . about that day, two years ago. Tomorrow will be the anniversary of my . . . family's death. Two years ago, I lived in South Africa. I lived in a little village along with my mom, my dad, my little brother and little sister. Two years ago . . ."

(A/N: I'm changing to flashback like they do in the animes when reciting the past)

_She had just been to visit her friends and was now walking home. The evening was darker than usual due to the fact that the moon was only half full and clouds covering the sky blocked the moon from giving out enough light. As she walked home, she smiled as she remembered the funny antics of her friends. They were often saying random things and would often make her laugh for no reason. They were also funny and had taught her a lot of things that she didn't know. She couldn't wait for the next day as they were planning on going to the river which flowed next to the village. They were going to loads of fun. As she continued walking, she noticed that for some reason the village felt strange. It was quieter than usual and Umi felt a shiver go down her spine. That didn't make any sense as it had been one of those hot days and now it was pleasantly warm. Then she felt as if she was being watched. Quickly looking around, she saw no one. She quickened her walking pace. It was as if she was felt hostility was being aimed at her. As she reached the tennis court which was not very far away from her house, she came across someone who was lying face down on the street. Umi watched suspiously at the person. She was always wary of potential criminals. But as the person didn't do anything suspious or even move, she walked up to him. Shaking the person by the shoulder, she tried to wake him up. See as it wasn't working, she turned the person over, so that he was now lying on his back. She gasped as she saw that blood covered the front of the front of his shirt. Checking his pulse at his neck, she noticed that he felt cold. Feeling no pulse, she knew that he was dead. Reaching for her cell phone, she found that it wasn't in her pocket. Umi then remembered forgetting it at her house. She got up and ran towards the police station that was opposite her house. There, she encountered more people, all dead. Panicking for the first time, she heard a scream coming from the building next door. _

_She made a terrible mistake. She ran towards the building. Walking inside, she noticed bodies again, only this time they were cut into big chunks. Holding the scream that was building up in the back of her throat, she walked forward, quietly keeping to the shadows, still hearing screams. In the garden at the back of the house, she saw a man with a scythe and she froze. The scythe had a long blade at the top and then underneath it was another blade but shorter. He was using the scythe with great skill as three people ran, screaming ahead of him, only to have their legs cut in half. Still screaming, the scythe cut one person's head off, another person's arms and then the last person was cut in half. The remaining person screamed in agony. The man just laughed a cruel laugh before plunging the scythe through the person's back straight through the heart. Umi stared in utter shock. The man turned around. His eyes seemed to pierce the darkness and find her. He smiled. Umi realised that she was in trouble. She turned around and ran back into the house, nearly stumbling on the dead peoples' body parts. Running out onto the street, she heard screams from all directions. It could only mean one thing. The man with the scythe had friends. She ran towards her house, scared to think of how her family was. Running on the foot path leading towards the house, she didn't notice a shadow following her. She burst into her house, finding the house in darkness. Calling for her family, she heard them answer. Rushing to them and hugging her dad, she told them what she had seen. The room's light came on and a stranger stood in the doorway. A guy with several piercings on his face stared at them. There was something odd with his eyes. Umi's dad quickly moved in front of the family. The man held a strange dagger that Umi recognised to be a kunai. The man slashed Umi's dad across the chest. He fell to the ground, dead. Umi screamed. The man aimed at Umi's chest but her mother moved to protect her. She shouted at Umi to get her brother and sister out of there. Umi grabbed the arms of her siblings and ran towards the back door. Finding it open, they ran out. Running out onto the street, they encountered the man with the scythe. Before they could do anything, the man sliced Umi's sister in two. Umi and her brother screamed. Then another man came out from the shadows. Umi noticed that his eyes were red. Preoccupied by the man with red eyes, she didn't see the man with the scythe throwing his weapon at her. Umi screamed in pain as the scythe cut into the side of her stomach. Kneeling, she placed her hands over the wide cut. Hearing the guy laugh, she looked up. She saw him aiming the weapon at her. He sliced downward. Umi watched as her brother threw himself in the way of the scythe, getting sliced in two and his warm blood splashing all over her. Too shocked, she simply stared at her brother's dead body, blood still gushing out. Umi heard a man speak in a foreign language but she didn't even try to recognise it. When she looked up again, it was to find that the man with the scythe had disappeared leaving only the man with the red eyes. He stared at her. Umi couldn't move from fear and shock. He's going to kill me, she thought. As she continued to look at him, a strange feeling come over her. Feeling dizzy, she began to rock from side to side. Then she fell to one side. As the dizzy feeling continued, she began to close her eyes. And it felt as if someone was trying to tell her something but she felt far away and couldn't hear what the person was saying . . ._

After Umi had finished speaking about her past, Gaara remained silent. In the distance, they could hear the sound of a clock's bell striking, telling them that it was three in the morning and that Umi had been speaking for the last three hours. Umi stayed quiet, wondering what Gaara was going to say, or if he was going to even say anything at all. Then Gaara spoke.

"What happened after that?"

She looked at him. Then she thought on how to answer him.

"The police arrived from nearby towns to find that the village had been murdered in many cruel ways. Checking to find if perhaps there was someone alive, they found me, still alive. It would seem that the man with red eyes had thought that I had died and left there. It would seem that his friends didn't bother to check if I was alive or not, as I was covered in blood and seemed dead. After I had been found, the police rushed me to hospital to sew up the wound I had gotten from that guy with the scythe. The media had a field day. The police had to guard the hospital from the reporters as they wanted to ask me questions about what happened. I found out later, that I was the only survivor. I also found out that the men I had seen were part of a Japanese group of nine criminals. Two days later, they came in the middle night to the hospital I was in. I think it was because they didn't want any survivors. I woke up to find all nine gathered around my room. One of them, a woman, stood at the side of my bed and had her hands over my mouth. The other eight all began to stab me with kunais," Umi said, shivering as she remembered. "I think they wanted to torture me first before they kill me. Luckily for me, a night-duty nurse had come in and had screamed, making the group flee. After that I was put under police protection and placed in the witness protection program. I had to change the way I looked in order to hide me better. But it didn't help much as they found me again. But I was rescued in time by the police so it wasn't so bad. But I had a nervous breakdown and I was brought to Japan to be seen by one of the doctors here. That's how I meet my family here. The doctor I went to see is my okaasan's brother. My otousan is head of the police department and he adopted me. Of course I changed my appearance even more this time. Blue hair, no glasses, longer hair. Not much but it changed me a lot. Plus my personality changed a bit. Ha ha, after all who wouldn't change after going through that, huh?" Umi said, laughing bitterly. Gaara looked at her.

"Did you hate the change?"

Umi thought deeply.

"Not really. I mean I didn't like the fact that my family and friends were dead but I've always wanted to live in Japan. I guess there were good things that happened and bad thing too. I just wish that . . ." Umi hesitated.

"What?"

"It's nothing. Look, thanks for hearing me out ok? It did help. I'm going to see if I can fall asleep for a few hours before the others wake up," Umi said, getting up and returned to the room. Gaara watched her go. You just wish that what? He thought.

**Author's chat:**** Remember my comment from before? This is what I meant. You've found out about Umi's past! cries in joy and relief What? I can cry, you know. Why am I crying? Well, hopefully with this chapter, things will pick up from here. Yes, yes, I know I'm the author and I already know what's going to happen and I write this damn story but still! I still need to work on some things. I know the outcome of the story. I just need to work on the body. By the way, I think there may be dome romance in the next chapter. Bear with me. First time writing romance. . . . Should I just shut up and write?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey sorry for the late update. I have been thinking long and hard and have decided to rewrite my story. My new story will be under the name "Konoha High: Trust me". First chapter is out! It's better and much more interesting. Thanks for everyone's help in making the story better!**

**Plus check out my sister's new story. About Akatsuki! She may be 11 but her sense of humour is great! Under the title of "Akatsuki Switch" by VampireKitty-chan!**


End file.
